
Wedding Planning 101
Private: COVID-19 UPDATE: Postponing Your NJ Wedding
With Governor Murphy's ban of weddings in New Jersey until further notice, we know you may be in a state
Read MoreUPDATE ON NJ MARRIAGE LICENSES AS OF MAY 4: Governor Phil Murphy signed an order that will go into effect on Monday, May 4, 2020, that will ease up restrictions on both obtaining a marriage license in New Jersey and also getting married via video-conferencing. I have included the exact wording from the order below, but the highlights are:
And here are the basics: If the bride lives in New Jersey, she should apply in her town. If she doesn’t, apply in the groom’s town. If neither live in New Jersey, apply in the town where you are getting married.
And for more details on what you need to apply for a New Jersey marriage license, click HERE. But remember that certain parts have been amended (see above and below) during Covid-19.
For specifics on how your individual clerk’s office is handling, please contact them directly. For a list of individual town clerk’s offices in New Jersey, click HERE.
For Governor Murphy’s order in its entirety, click here. Sections regarding marriage licenses and ceremonies have been excerpted below.
1. For the duration of the Public Health Emergency declared in Executive Order No. 103 (2020), the provisions of N.J.S.A. 37:1-7 and N.J.S.A. 37:1-8 requiring that individuals who wish to marry or enter into a civil union appear personally before a licensing official may be satisfied through the use of audio-visual technology under the following conditions:
2. For the duration of the Public Health Emergency declared in Executive Order No. 103 (2020), the provisions of N.J.S.A. 37:1-17 requiring that the marriage or civil union be solemnized in the physical presence of an officiant and two witnesses, who will then sign the certificate, may be satisfied through the use of audio-visual technology under the following conditions:
c. Following the video conference, the officiant shall make copies of the license and certificate and shall distribute the original and copies in the manner and within the time period required by N.J.S.A. 26:8-41 and N.J.S.A. 37:1-17.1; and
d. In effectuating the transmission contemplated in this section, local registrars shall use a means that is secure and maintains the confidentiality of the documents.
3. For the duration of the Public Health Emergency, the provisions of N.J.S.A. 37:1-4 requiring a 72-hour waiting period between the license application and issuance shall be waived.
4. Notwithstanding N.J.S.A. 37:1-4, any marriage or civil union license issued during the Public Health Emergency shall be valid for 90 days.
5. For the duration of the Public Health Emergency declared in Executive Order No. 103 (2020), the fees imposed by N.J.S.A. 37:1-12 and N.J.S.A. 37:1-12.1 for the issuance of a marriage or civil union license shall be waived if the couple seeks a second license, mirroring the original license, due to the expiration of the original.